Budi Purnomo

Lounge act

BUDI PURNOMO IS the enterprising young CEO of Taurus Gemilang, which describes itself as “the pioneer and the biggest (airport) lounge operator in the country”. The company was founded in Surabaya in 1989.

“We have won more than seven awards, with one of it for being the Best Lounge Operator in Indonesia,” says Purnomo, who was born in Surabaya in 1983. “We manage 8 executive lounges and 33 F&B outlets in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Makassar, Jambi, Pekanbaru and Balikpapan. Our upcoming project is a new airport lounge concept for Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Now, we are moving ahead to expand our business in other transportation area.”

Purnomo considers his parents to be his biggest mentors. “I learned from them that nothing is impossible if you look carefully at what the market needs,” he says. “They showed me that trust is something you need to earn while doing business. When your partners, clients and staff trust you, everything becomes easier to achieve. They also taught me never to lose sight of a good business opportunity.

“I think that to succeed as an entrepreneur in today’s world, you need to be able to see things other people don’t see. For sure, you need to be able to listen and be more observant of your surroundings. The most important thing is that you need to know when to execute. Transportation area is an ever-changing industry, and I believe that my career is definitely one of a kind. Today is never the same as yesterday, so my work never gets boring.”